Poetics

Summary

Aristotle proposes to study poetry by analyzing its constitutive
parts and then drawing general conclusions. The portion of the Poetics that
survives discusses mainly tragedy and epic poetry. We know that
Aristotle also wrote a treatise on comedy that has been lost. He defines
poetry as the mimetic, or imitative, use of language, rhythm, and
harmony, separately or in combination. Poetry is mimetic in that
it creates a representation of objects and events in the world, unlike
philosophy, for example, which presents ideas. Humans are naturally
drawn to imitation, and so poetry has a strong pull on us. It can
also be an excellent learning device, since we can coolly observe
imitations of things like dead bodies and disgusting animals when
the real thing would disturb us.

Aristotle identifies tragedy as the most refined version
of poetry dealing with lofty matters and comedy as the most refined
version of poetry dealing with base matters. He traces a brief and
speculative history of tragedy as it evolved from dithyrambic hymns
in praise of the god Dionysus. Dithyrambs were sung by a large choir,
sometimes featuring a narrator. Aeschylus invented tragedy by bringing
a second actor into dialogue with the narrator. Sophocles innovated further
by introducing a third actor, and gradually tragedy shifted to its
contemporary dramatic form.

Aristotle defines tragedy according to seven characteristics:
(1) it is mimetic, (2) it is serious, (3) it tells a full story
of an appropriate length, (4) it contains rhythm and harmony, (5)
rhythm and harmony occur in different combinations in different
parts of the tragedy, (6) it is performed rather than narrated,
and (7) it arouses feelings of pity and fear and then purges these
feelings through catharsis. A tragedy consists of six component
parts, which are listed here in order from most important to least
important: plot, character, thought, diction, melody, and spectacle.

A well-formed plot must have a beginning, which is not
a necessary consequence of any previous action; a middle, which
follows logically from the beginning; and an end, which follows
logically from the middle and from which no further action necessarily
follows. The plot should be unified, meaning that every element
of the plot should tie in to the rest of the plot, leaving no loose
ends. This kind of unity allows tragedy to express universal themes
powerfully, which makes it superior to history, which can only talk
about particular events. Episodic plots are bad because there is
no necessity to the sequence of events. The best kind of plot contains
surprises, but surprises that, in retrospect, fit logically into
the sequence of events. The best kinds of surprises are brought
about by peripeteia, or reversal of fortune, and anagnorisis,
or discovery. A good plot progresses like a knot that is tied up
with increasingly greater complexity until the moment of peripeteia, at
which point the knot is gradually untied until it reaches a completely
unknotted conclusion.

For a tragedy to arouse pity and fear, we must observe
a hero who is relatively noble going from happiness to misery as
a result of error on the part of the hero. Our pity and fear is
aroused most when it is family members who harm one another rather
than enemies or strangers. In the best kind of plot, one character
narrowly avoids killing a family member unwittingly thanks to an anagnorisis that reveals
the family connection. The hero must have good qualities appropriate
to his or her station and should be portrayed realistically and
consistently. Since both the character of the hero and the plot
must have logical consistency, Aristotle concludes that the untying
of the plot must follow as a necessary consequence of the plot and
not from stage artifice, like a deus ex machina (a
machine used in some plays, in which an actor playing one of the
gods was lowered onto the stage at the end).

Aristotle discusses thought and diction and then moves
on to address epic poetry. Whereas tragedy consists of actions presented in
a dramatic form, epic poetry consists of verse presented in a narrative
form. Tragedy and epic poetry have many common qualities, most notably
the unity of plot and similar subject matter. However, epic poetry
can be longer than tragedy, and because it is not performed, it
can deal with more fantastic action with a much wider scope. By
contrast, tragedy can be more focused and takes advantage of the
devices of music and spectacle. Epic poetry and tragedy are also
written in different meters. After defending poetry against charges
that it deals with improbable or impossible events, Aristotle concludes
by weighing tragedy against epic poetry and determining that tragedy
is on the whole superior.